Man in blue dons white coat for TV soapie

DURBAN - In the twilight of his police career, the man in blue who campaigns for children not to go with strangers, to tell their parents not to drive while talking on their cellphones, and fasten their seatbelts, now has a part in a soapie.

Captain Peter Keogh of the Durban metro police said he almost chickened out of auditioning for the role of neurologist Dr Walcott in e-TV’s Imbewu: The Seed.

“But my colleagues at the office said ‘captain, if you don’t, we’ll never talk to you again’,” he said.

His daughter Catherine also pushed him.

Once selected, Keogh had to think about getting into character.

“I went to a hospital to see how doctors walked around and how they talked to patients. I also consulted our family doctor to talk about how he treated patients.

“But the main thing was getting into character.”

Twice in the studio, Keogh said he panicked. But the second time, the “wonderful Jailoshini Naidoo” took him aside. “We sat for an hour at Circus Circus in Musgrave Centre going through the lines. The next day I walked back on set and froze.”

However, it was third time lucky and things worked out.

Asked whether this was the start of something new in his life, Keogh shook his head. “At the end of the day, I’m a policeman, not a rock ‘* ’ roll star.”

However, he said his acting role, which was done in his spare time, was a tribute to his late wife, Captain Vicky Keogh, and the metro police force, especially those who supported them through hard times, when she suffered years of illness after being hit by a vehicle while directing traffic.

He said he hoped his acting would be an example to children from the guitar-playing policeman, to never give up on their dreams.